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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: renewable energy

renewable energy stories: 40 news summaries

1 - 20 of 40 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

 Obama Tags $3.4B 
 for Smart Energy Grid 

Plan will create tens of thousands of jobs and cheaper electricity

(Newser) - President Obama will roll out a plan to use $3.4 billion in stimulus funds to modernize the nation’s electrical grid today. The “smart grid” spending will go to private contractors, utilities, and municipal governments in grants of between $400,000 and $2 million. The administration expects $4.... More »

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Iraq power grid electricity renewable energy job creation Obama administration President Obama stimulus funds

Energy Lobby Split on Climate, Thrilling Greens

Natural gas companies squabble with Big Oil as Senate negotiates

(Newser) - With the Senate set to consider legislation to tax carbon and rein in global warming, a split has emerged among the energy lobby that may make it easier to pass a clean-energy law. Natural gas producers favor a bill, while their colleagues in the oil industry oppose it; electric companies... More »

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oil coal Senate renewable energy natural gas carbon taxes oil industry Waxman-Markey

OPINION

 Drill, Baby, Drill!: Palin

Renewable energy, domestic oil development are complementary

(Newser) - Even as the US develops renewable-energy sources and cars that don’t need gas, it’s important to recognize that petroleum will be a part of our lives for some time, writes Sarah Palin. And as long as we need it, we should be getting as much as possible from... More »

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energy oil Alaska United States renewable energy Sarah Palin offshore drilling drilling

 Google Earth, Al Gore 
 Detail Climate Change  

Al Gore narrates intro to new feature detailing perils, and solutions

(Newser) - Google—with the help of Al Gore—has introduced new “layers” to its Earth application that detail the possible effects of climate change in the next century. The Nobel laureate narrates an intro to a series of virtual tours that highlight terrifying scenarios and solutions. The upgrade allows users... More »

OPINION

 Downtrodden Detroit 
 Can Rise Again, Green 

Cheap labor, empty factories, can-do legacy scream green revolution

(Newser) - The Detroit of Daniel Okrent’s childhood is gone. The “elm-lined streets” of the “City of Homeowners”—“the place that America once knew as the Arsenal of Democracy”—have become “the urban equivalent of a boxer's mouth, more gaps than teeth.” A devastating... More »

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Detroit Michigan racism manufacturing renewable energy auto industry politicians urban blight Daniel Okrent

(Newser) - If the US wants to be, in Barack Obama’s words, the “world’s leading exporter of renewable energy,” it’s got a lot of catching up to do. China is the king of solar, and it’s moving aggressively on the US market, the New York ... More »

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China energy renewable energy solar power solar panels

(Newser) - China's inefficient power plants and heavy reliance on coal are dragging down global efforts to curb climate change, a Greenpeace report warned yesterday. The report found that major Chinese power companies are responsible for a huge amount of the country's coal use and emissions, with the top three producers alone... More »

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China climate change Greenpeace coal power plant renewable energy coal power greenhouse-gas emissions

China Plans Massive Push for Green Power

Country could be world's leader in clean energy by 2020

(Newser) - China is on course to obtain 20% of its energy from wind and solar sources by 2020—a transformation that would make the country the world leader in renewables. Beijing is ramping up its targets for clean energy, helped by the $590 billion stimulus package passed last year, a senior... More »

analysis

 100 Days: 
 Biggest Promises Kept, Broken 

The economy has changed the stakes since the campaign began

(Newser) - One way to judge President Obama's first 100 days in office is to look at his rhetoric on the campaign trail. Taking into account the fallout from the economic crisis, PolitFact came up with the most crucial promises Obama has kept and broken. His vow to beef up alternative-energy investment... More »

 Calif. Utility Aims to Buy 
 Power From Space 

Orbiting solar farm planned for 2016

(Newser) - California’s Pacific Gas and Electric is seeking approval for its commitment to buy electricity from an innovative source, the San Francisco Chronicle reports: an orbiting solar power array that would beam electricity back to Earth. Solaren Corp. plans to deploy the satellite sometime before 2016; PG&E has signaled... More »

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California alternative energy space Earth satellite renewable energy solar cells solar array

Wind Could Provide All US Power: Feds

Interior Dept. study sees offshore turbines generating energy

(Newser) - Offshore winds are a largely untapped resource that could potentially supply the US with even more electricity than it currently needs, according to a new Interior  Department report. The report says the area off the Atlantic coast could meet more than one-fourth of the national power demand, but the fact... More »

ANALYSIS

Plans for Clean Energy Get Dirty in Transmission

Firms use green hype to build power lines that could carry electricity from coal

(Newser) - Plans to green the US power supply are in full swing, with the Obama administration working toward the goal of doubling the current supply of alternative energy over the next 3 years. But, some complain, power companies are using the popularity of green power to push through a needless—but... More »

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alternative energy coal electricity renewable energy solar power wind power turbines transmission



 Winds of Change 
 Could Power 
 Energy Shift 

US gets only 1% of power from wind, but that could soon change

(Newser) - Wind turbines only provide 1% of power in the US, but advances by other nations might there's a push to up that number after the advances made by other nations. When storms pound Spain, wind-driven power provides up to a quarter of the nation's supply, driving down the cost of... More »

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Spain renewable energy wind power energy costs turbines wind farm

Germans Slash Energy Use With 'Passive' Houses

Recycling heat lets green home stay warm without a furnace

(Newser) - A revolutionary house design from Germany keeps inhabitants warm in winter with about as much energy as it takes to run a hairdryer, the New York Times reports. The "passive house" is sealed with ultrathick insulation. A central ventilation system exchanges warm air from inside with cold air from... More »

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energy architecture house renewable energy insulation

 Winter Chills Green Energy 

Renewable energy industry works to deal with seasonal variations

(Newser) - Winter weather is cooling newfound enthusiasm for renewable energy, the New York Times reports. Solar panels get snowed up or suffer from lack of sunlight on short winter days, and biodiesel sometimes congeals in cold weather. Wintry weather is a plus for wind power, but turbines can get iced up... More »

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alternative energy biodiesel green energy renewable energy solar power winter wind power winter weather

OPINION

 Gore: 5 Steps to Save Planet 

Nobel laureate calls on Obama, new Congress to act now

(Newser) - The road to energy efficiency is paved with the same solutions needed to fix the economic crisis, Al Gore writes in a New York Times op-ed. Dismissing proposals for domestic drilling, the climate crusader says, “We simply cannot any longer base the strategy for human survival on a cynical... More »

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climate change Barack Obama energy Congress Middle East Al Gore power grid carbon renewable energy auto industry foreign oil sustainability

Green Energy Jobs: Will They Save the Economy?

Obama's plans for investment in renewable energy turn cost into benefit

(Newser) - Barack Obama's ambitious plans to use green energy investment to rev up the economy are igniting fierce debate over the math behind them, the Wall Street Journal writes. The president-elect says $150 billion in investment will create five million jobs over the next decade, in construction and installation. Critics charge... More »

glossies

 New Solar Tech Can Top This 

Solyndra's designs can capture light from any angle

(Newser) - A California company's new, sun-sucking glass tubes aim to solve solar power's practical problems, the Economist reports. Chief among them are flat panels that miss the sun—by looking the wrong way—and cost more than $40,000 per household to install. Solyndra's new technology uses glass tubes that capture... More »

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environment California alternative energy renewable energy solar power solar panels

Native Americans Seek Wealth From the Wind

Tribes on wind-rich land hope alternative energy boom will reshape their economies

(Newser) - Native Americans own some of America's most wind-rich land, and tribal leaders in South Dakota and elsewhere are working to harness the natural power to cash in on the alternative energy boom, the New York Times reports. If they are successful, the projects could work transformations similar to those casinos... More »

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South Dakota renewable energy Native Americans Sioux wind farm

OPINION

Don't Breeze Into
Billion-Dollar Wind Projects 

'Heedless investment' could provoke an ethanol-like blowback, writer asserts

(Newser) - Wind promises a practical source of renewable energy, but if the US doesn’t develop it properly, it’ll face another ethanol-like morass, warns Matthew Quirk in the Atlantic. Efforts like T. Boone Pickens’ $10 billion Texas wind farm are misguided. “Wind power is unlikely to cause a global... More »

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renewable energy T. Boone Pickens wind power

1 - 20 of 40 Stories | 1 2 Next >>